Ratliff: Nothing wrong with current school finance plan

Posted: Saturday, August 21, 2004

April CastroThe Associated Press

AUSTIN - The lawmaker known as the "father of Robin Hood" testified Friday that there is nothing inherently wrong with the share-the-wealth school funding system, but the state has abdicated its share of funding responsibility.

The testimony from former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff ended the second week of the trial in which hundreds of schools are challenging the state's school funding system. The districts are arguing that the system's dependence on local property taxes is unconstitutional and doesn't provide enough money to educate Texas' 4.3 million students.

The trial is expected to last until mid-September. Any ruling by state District Judge John Dietz will likely be appealed.

"I don't see anything wrong with the current school finance system," Ratliff said. "The thing that's gone wrong with the system is that by virtue of the state's abdicating on paying for its share," schools are unable to continue progress that has been made during the last decade.

The state's share of the education budget has steadily declined since 1999, now accounting for 38 percent of the approximately $30 billion spent on K-12 education in Texas, according to some estimates. As governor, George W. Bush set a goal for the state to fund 55 percent of education costs, but that was never reached. Local property taxes account for the bulk of education spending and some federal funding also is incorporated.

In 1993, under pressure from the Texas Supreme Court, then-Sen. Ratliff authored the school finance legislation that remains largely in place. That bill, the so-called Robin Hood plan, called for property tax revenue from wealthy districts to be redistributed throughout the state, so that most districts had equal access to similar funding, as required by the state Constitution.